The trades suck, let’s be honest with each other. It’s an honest days work but let’s not kid ourselves, it’s not a walk in the park either. This advice that seemingly gets tossed around when someone advocates for higher pay is misleading at best. If you look at starting salaries for construction labourers on indeed, a lot of companies are paying $18-20/hr and you’re working like 60-70 hours a week. Sure, the numbers might seem promising when you get your pay cheque but the company you’re working for will squeeze every last hour out of you to get their moneys worth.
The reason why there’s a job shortage in these fields is because nobody wants to do them. Even if the pay is adequate, the toll it takes on your mental and physical health is not worth it. I say this with no disrespect to honest working men in the trades but the trades is filled with some of the stupidest people you will ever meet. I’m talking Qanon, Covid conspiracy, anti-Vaxxer trump supporting level of ignorance. They are the furthest thing from an intellectual space. Lastly, it’s a toxic environment generally. Besides the level of ignorance, managers are always cussing at the labourers, there’s bullying and they try to instil fear in all of us by creating the impression our jobs are on the line.
I worked in construction as a means to pay off university loans while I tried to look for a job in my field of study and thankfully I got out.
I’m not saying a desk job is for everyone but make sure the trades are really what you want to do.